It’s … The Encyclopedia of American loons! Our new and exciting series presenting a representative sample of American loons from A-Z.

Thursday, November 28, 2013

#808: Michael Johnston

Michael Johnston is an ex-gay anti-gay activist, promoter of
reparative therapy,
and founder of the (now defunct) Kerusso ministries. In the 90s he became
central enough in the movement that even Jerry Falwell would use him as “proof” that gays could become heterosexuals, and Johnston
toured churches and schools with his message, underlining the fact that he had
contracted HIV during his gay years, and even helped the Assemblies of God
write their official position on homosexuality. He was also campaigning to use
sexual orientation as a criterion to deny fellow citizens equal treatment under
the law, the face of the Truth in Love campaign, and founder of Americans for
Truth (currently AFTAH, run by Peter LaBarbera).
Then, in 2003, Johnston and the Kerusso ministries disappeared, and all
references to him by the American Family Association and the Family Policy Network were deleted. Story here.

The reason, of course, was that Johnston
had been going by the name Sean and had been cruising men online. He had also
been organizing unsafe sex parties and lying about his HIV status. Of course,
once the news were released to the media,
the anti-gay movement desperately tried to downplay Johnston’s involvement.

In 2007, however, Johnston
reappeared as Director of Donor Relations for the Pure Life Ministry.
Though he is assuming a somewhat lower profile, his anti-gay efforts apparently
continue as before.

Diagnosis: It is somewhat hard to believe that Johnston
actually thinks of himself as “ex-gay”, but his efforts in the anti-gay
movement surely qualify him for an entry in the Encyclopedia. The Assembly of
God’s official position on sexual orientation is not reason-based, to put it
rather mildly.